Yang-ho Cho, who took the reins of Korean Air in 1999 as chairman and CEO after serving as its president and CEO for four years, died peacefully today in a Los Angeles hospital after a brief illness, the company said in a press release. He was 70 years old.
In his more than two decades at the helm, Cho took the once accident plagued airline and turned it into a global leader, being name as world’s best performing airline by Air Transport World last year and earning a four star rating from Skytrax, which ranks airlines based on customer reviews. In 2018, Airline Ratings placed Korean Air as 8th best in the world, ahead of Cathay Pacific and Japan Air Lines.
During his tenure as CEO revenue increased from under $2 billion to $12.65 billion in 2018 while the fleet more than doubled to 167 aircraft and destinations nearly tripled to 124. Revenue Passenger Kilometers (RPKs), a key measure, jumped four-fold to over 80 million with revenue from freight more than tripling.
Cho helped position Korean Air on the worldwide stage in 2000 as a founding member of the Skyteam international airline alliance along with Air France, forged a joint venture with Delta Air Lines and made his airline the leader across the Pacific with 15 North American gateways.
Using a new and modern airport with 24 hour operations at Incheon, he leveraged Korea’s prime geographic location to serve as a connecting point to cities in China, Japan and throughout Southeast Asia.
Outside aviation, he led the committee that brought the 2018 Winter Olympics to Korea. He also oversaw the development of the Wilshire Grand complex in downtown Los Angeles, the tallest building west of the Mississippi, which is owned by Korean Air.
Cho served on the Board of Governors of the International Air Transport Association (IATA); the Board of Trustees of his alma mater, University of Southern California; and has received honorary doctorate degrees from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University (Florida) and the Ukraine National Aviation University.
He expanded Korean Air into business aviation, setting up a private jet charter division that includes a Boeing Business Jet, Bombardier Global Express XRS and Sikorsky 76C+ helicopter.
When Cho took the reins of Korean Air from his father in the mid 1990s, it was trying repair its image after a series of accidents mainly blamed on lacking cockpit flight management systems. Airline Ratings today ranks Korean Air seven stars for safety, the highest possible rating, and the same for product. It also tabbed it for Best Economy Class in the World having the roomiest seats in the industry.
Among its service innovations was a walk-up duty free store aboard its Airbus A380 jumbo jets as well as personal suites in business class. Today, Korean Air is often mentioned alongside Singapore Airlines, Emirates Airlines, Lufthansa and other carriers favored by premium passengers.
In recent years, Cho's leadership had been under fire after his daughter, who was an executive of the airline, was arrested in what became known as the "nut rage" incident and charges of embezzlement, which he denied. Last month, he lost a shareholder confidence vote which cost him his board seat despite retaining a controlling stake in the company.
Cho began his career in aviation at the airline’s Americas Regional Headquarters in Los Angeles in 1974 after graduating from USC. He is survived by his wife, Myung-hee Lee, son Walter, daughters Heather and Emily and five grandsons.
Korean Air is scheduled to launch a new non-stop route between Boston and Seoul on April 12.
